Twin tiger deaths rock Sariska, Ranthambhore

JAIPUR: A day after a tiger got trapped in a barbed wire fence and choked to death in Sariska National Park, another male tiger died in Ranthambhore after it was tranquillised while being rescued from a village on Tuesday. The twin deaths have ignited a controversy, with green activists calling it a “black day” for wildlife in Rajasthan and alleging that the tiger died due to a tranquilliser overdose.

The 13-year-old male tiger T-28, famously known as “Star” or “Sitara” in Ranthambhore National Park (RNP), was being rescued from a village in Khandar area on the park’s periphery, said forest officials. It had strayed close to village Chaan, where people had surrounded it. A forest department team reached the spot to rescue the big cat and tranquillised it. “The tiger was tranquillised and rescued. It was brought to Gudda forest area where it died at 1pm,” chief conservator of forest at Sawai Madhopur, Y K Sahu, said.

Wildlife lovers alleged that both deaths took place due to the forest department’s apathy. Late on Monday, a male tiger from Sariska, ST-11, was found dead in an agriculture field. The four-year-old big cat got strangulated after getting enmeshed in a barbwire fence put by a farmer to stop wild animals from damaging his crops. The farmer informed the authorities about the incident. Yet another tiger, a female, ST-5, from Sariska has been missing for past 25-days. T-28 had been a dominant male tiger for a long time and raised two generations of tigers in RNP through tigresses T-17 and T-19, which are daughters of the legendary tigress “Machli”.